Taya Valkyrie NXT Debut Set For First Episode After TakeOver: Stand & Deliver

New name and new start date for former Impact Knockouts Champion.

Franky NXT
WWE

Last night's NXT all but confirmed that former Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie will debut on the black-and-gold brand's first Tuesday episode following TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.

The episode featured several clips of a dog running through the various areas of WWE's Performance Center and Capitol Wrestling Center, before meeting back up with its owner - an unknown figure in sparkly boots. As shown above, a caption then read "See You April 13th! Franky".

Prior reports had noted WWE's trademarking of "Franky Monet" and NXT viewers were quick to note that the dog in the vignettes was - Presley - the pet of Valkyrie and husband John Morrison, as regularly featured on Instagram and in select Impact appearances. Two plus two can - unusually for wrestling - probably make four on this one.

Advertisement

Valkyrie (or, now, Franky Monet) could and should be an excellent addition to the stacked division, especially if it takes a completely different shape in the wake of major Stand & Deliver bouts.

Both the singles and tag team titles are on the line and at risk as Raquel Gonzalez and The Way challenge Io Shirai and Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon respectively. It will be interesting to see where Monet mixes in.

Advertisement
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett